These headphones will impress neophyte users who have little previous experience with full-sized headphones that produce a bigger sound than is typical of the stock earbuds/headphones that are packaged with portable players. Bose has indeed engineered these to produce a large amount of bass, and they are easily driven to impressive volume by any portable. Also on the plus side, the Triports are stylish and quite comfortable to wear. Overall, they exhibit a "live" sound that some listeners enjoy.

That's about all the good news there is. The sound quality overall is kind of sibilant and boomy, and the midrange reproduction is very poor. This is also an example of a headphone that actually sounds worse when used with a headphone amplifier.

Despite their comfortable design, the Triports suffer from flimsy build quality; there are many reports of broken headbands and earpiece connectors (I have read, however, that Bose has made some improvements in this area). These headphones probably would be a good value at about half their retail price.

Where to start? Hmm..

Worst sound I've heard in headphones above the 50 dollar price range. Bass impact is non-existent, there is no sign of mids at all, and then there's extremely grainy, shrill highs. Not the most musical cans at all.

Build quality is even worse. Mine snapped on me numerous times, and I actually sent back to Bose to get a new one!

I couldn't deal with these headphones for much longer than two months, so I got rid of them as fast as I could.

These were my first expensive headphones and when I got them I was actually pretty impressed. They sound pretty good and definitely a lot better then your average headphones that come with a cd/mp3 player. Now when you compare them with other headphones in the price range they are really no match. If these headphones were $100 cheaper they may actually be worth it.

Now one of the biggest problems with these is that they are very easy to break. I only had them for about a year before I broke one of the cups off.

I bought these in Aug 2007 and by Sept 2008 (Just after warranty period) they developed a rattle which progressively got worse. By Jan 2009 the ear pads started peeling, the head band started peeling. They now are terrible all tattered and rattly. These have been kept in their case all their life when not in use so they have not broke down through UV degradation--just poor materials. I paid over the odds for them when i got them ($200 Aud) and are now looking for a new set for around the $400aud mark.